A good rule of thumb for starting a business

According to Monica L. Dolezal, owner of Bizstarts consulting in Des Moines, Iowa, its a good idea to figure out how much your expenses will be for three to six months and have that amount in checking or savings to start with.

Personally, I would lean more towards the six month figure than the three month figure. In reality, most startups don't become profitable for a year or more, so make sure that you have reserve finances to get you through that first critical year of growth.

Check out this link if you want to read more about Monica Dolezal and her opinions on starting a business:
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/BUSINESS04/601260325/1033

Check back often for more small business finance advice

Using credit card to fund you business or startup?

There was a very interesting article in Entrepreneur Magazine regarding whether or not to use personal or business credit cards to finance a new business. According to the article, recent surveys show that credit cards are among the most popular ways of funding a new company. In fact it was one of the two most popular options, along with borrowing from relatives.

The article goes on to discuss the pitfalls of running up a debt on a “business” card that is personally guaranteed by the owner(s) of the company. Although I recommend waiting until your corporation has enough of a credit history to be eligible for a credit card with no personal guarantee this article is a good read for those of you who simply can’t wait that long (it typically takes two years or more of a good credit history for a corporation to qualify with no guarantee).

Here’s a link to the article, which is being syndicated by MSNBC:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10806912/

Check back often for more small business finance discussion.

EmergingMed.com Inc. receives $3 million in financing

I guess dot.com still do get find ways to get financing.

Today it was announced that EmergingMed.com Inc. has closed a$3 million Series B round of financing. EmergingMed.com engages in a variety of activities including developing software applications, managing and promoting patient and physician searches for clinical trials and establishing and maintaining a database of clinical trials.

The money that will be receiving will go towards providing new services and to develop cancer clinical trial matching.

EmergingMed used Larkspur Capital as an advisor to help secure their funding.

For more info check out this press release:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-05-2006/0004243466&EDATE=

Check back often for more small business finance information.